Monday, April 29, 2013

Koninginnedag 2013 - Queen´s Day & Poffertjes (Mini Dutch Pancakes)

Queen's Day is going to be special this year for the Dutch. It is the last one for a while, since on January 28th, 2013, Queen Beatrix announced her abdication on April 30th, 2013 in favour of her son, Willem-Alexander. Tomorrow, on April 30th, 2013, she will abdicate the throne after 33 years. On the same day, the new King, her son Willem-Alexander, will be inaugurated, which means next year it will be King´s Day. Also, the date will be changed from April 30th to April 27th, which is the birthday of Willem-Alexander. The ceremonies for the inauguration will take place at the Royal Palace at Dam Square and the Nieuwe Kerk.

Queen's Day, Queensday or Koninginnedag (as the Dutch call it), is a national holiday in the Netherlands. On this day, the Dutch celebrate the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix's birthday is not on that date, but on January 31st. April 30th was the birthday of her mother, Queen Juliana. Queen Beatrix wanted to continue celebrating Koninginnedag on that date as a mark of respect to her mother.

This special holiday is also a typical occasion for the world-famous "orange craze or madness", in Dutch, "oranjegekte". The color orange is a ubiquitous sight, referring to the name of the royal family, the House of Orange. On this special day, everywhere you go, you will see orange banners, orange colored foods and drinks as well as people dressed in orange.

We spent a lot of time in the Netherlands as we like everything about this wonderful country. I have blogged about some wonderful places to visit in the Netherlands such as the utterly delightful Dille&Kamille kitchen supply store in Middleburg, the heavenlyBoekhandel Selexy Dominicanen bookstore and the traditional Blanche Dael coffee roasting company in Maastricht and I have also posted a recipe for utterly delicious traditional Stroopkoeken cookies. So, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate this special day by baking a wonderful Dutch treat, namely little Dutch pancakes, also called Poffertjes.

Poffertjes are a traditional Dutch treat. These small, fluffy pancakes, are typically made with yeast and buckwheat as well as all purpose flour and baked in a special Poffertjes Pan (poffertjespan). This specialty pan is either made of cast iron (that is the one I use), copper, or in a non-stock pan. Whatever the material of the pan, it usually has sixteen shallow indentations in the bottom. When you prepare Poffertjes, you should always use a Poffertjes Pan, but if you do not own one you could always use a regular pan or even an aebleskiver pan.

Traditionally, Poffertjes are served with powdered sugar and butter, and sometimes syrup. They are often served as a delicious afternoon snack or as dessert. When the weather turns cold, temporary stalls selling Poffertjes are quite popular, and sell portions containing one or two dozens of these little Dutch pancakes. Usually the cook prepares them fresh while you are watching and will serve these delicate treats to you on a small cardboard plate together with a small disposable fork.

Poffertjes (Mini Dutch Pancakes)

serves about four

Ingredients

1 level tsp instant yeast

1 tbsp milk

100 grams (1 cup) buckwheat flour

100 grams (1 cup) AP (plain) flour

2 eggs (L), organic or free range

1 tsp superfine (caster) sugar

1/2 tsp fine salt (I use sea salt)

1 1/4 cups warm milk (250 ml)

unsalted butter for frying the pancakes

some more butter and some powdered sugar for serving (optional) - you can also serve some syrup or fresh fruit alongside

Equipment

a specialty Poffertjes Pan (or other frying pan)

soft brush for buttering the pan

two small forks for turning the Poffertjes in the pan

a plastic squeeze bottle

Preparation

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk.

In a separate bowl, combine the buckwheat flour, the AP (plain) flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, salt and half of the milk.

Whisk the ingredienst until they become smooth.

Then add the remaining milk and whisk some more.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, set aside and allow the dough to rest for about an hour (there will be bubbles on the surface).

Turn on your stove to medium high and heat the Poffertjes pan or simply melt some butter in a frying pan.

If using a Poffertjes Pan, lightly butter each indentation (unless it is a non-stick pan, then no need for greasing) and pour some batter into each - making sure to fill only to the very rim of each indentation. You can use a plastic squeeze bottle for this step (I do).

After two minutes or as soon as a few bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes, use your forks to flip them over and fry some more on the other side (another two minute or so).

If using a regular pan, once the butter sizzles, add a teaspoonful of the batter in circular movements to create the mini pancakes and turn the Poffertjes around as soon as the bottom has set, using two forks.

Transfer the Poffertjes onto a cooling rack and brush with melted butter or serve them with some pats of butter and generously dust with powdered sugar.

These little Dutch pancakes might seem like a lot of work, but they are utterly delicious, they are buttery and have a nutty wholesome flavour from the buckwheat.

If you find a special Poffertjes Pan while travelling in the Netherlands or Belgium, do make sure to buy one and take it home with you.and prepare those delicate little treats.

So whether you are Dutch or just like to celebrate Koninginnedag 2013 and would like to join in the Dutch fun...

Oh Andrea, I was so thrilled when I saw your post for poffertjes and also thrilled you posted the recipe! My husband is Dutch. We have been to Holland several times. I fell in love with these tiny little puff pancakes on my first visit. The last time I was there I bought a poffertjes pan and a mix, because I could not find a recipe in english. I did have a friend that tried to translate one, but they never came out very well. I can’t wait to give these a try…they will make my husband very happy!

Kathy, I am delighted to read that you liked these little puffy Dutch pancaked - I am just making some more batter for today, so that we can munch on a pile of these treats while watching the ceremonies on T.V. today.

Hi Andrea! What a lovely post. I didn't know anything about Queen's Day, so now I feel both brighter and more hungry! These beautiful pancakes look like discs from heaven. Thank you for sharing with us!

Monet, since the Netherlands are only about an hours drive from where we live, we go there quite often and I thought it would be nice to celebrate a bit today - after all, it is not every day that EU gets a new King and we happen to love these Poffertjes too.

Hi Andrea! These mini Dutch pancakes look so dreamy and delicious. The drawings of these little flags are very cute too. My grandparents used to enjoy going to Holland and they brought us many souvenirs from there. I want to buy this special pan to make these - so cute!

Nami, I am sure that your kids would adore these little pancakes - maybe you could order a specialty pan through amazon. I will have find you a source if you are interested. Thanks for all the wonderful comments!

Marta, thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment - Amsterdam is one beautiful City and you really must have enjoyed living there - poffertjes are, of course, delicious and hard to beat when it comes to some lovely Dutch treats.

Thank you, Mary, I just watched the ceremonies on T.V. and the Dutch/German commentators mentioned that Queen Elisabeth has decided to never follow Queen Beatrix´s example and abdicate in favor of her son...who knows...but it was a wonderful celebration with a lot of happy faces and a lot of orange!

Thank you so muc, these mini Dutch pancakes are certainly a nice little treat for the whole family and since I bought one of the specialty pans a while ago in the Netherlands, the Queen´s Day seemed like the perfect time to prepare them.

Andrea, these little discs sound so incredibly tempting! I just love doughs with buckwheat flour. I was planning on making something dutch to post yesterday, you know, since Maxima is from argentina, but there was no time. Have a good day!

Paula, thanks so much - since the Netherlands is one of our favorite countries to visit, it was only fitting that I finally use my poffertjes pan and bake some delicious mini Dutch pancakes to celebrate the occasion of the inauguration of a new Dutch King and Queen - s.th. that does not happen every day!

I have never heard of these delightful pancakes. They looks wonderful. They must be light and tender with the additions of yeast and milk. I bet the buckwheat adds a wonderful bit of flavor. Thanks for the introduction. Your photographs look wonderful, and your food styling hits the mark. The little flags are a masterstroke! Brava!

What a wonderful comment - yes, those Dutch flags, when we were in the Netherlands last month, I just could not resist stocking up on some souvenirs...there are certain times in our lives that call for "Kitsch", pure and simple. And, yes, the buckwheat adds an interesting and nutty flavor to these cute mini pancakes.

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